Public land
In the UK public land is essentially land which is owned by the Government, or belong to part of the central government estate, which may include land of the Ministry of Defence (MoD), the Department for Transport (DfT), the Ministry of Housing (formerly the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities), Homes England, the Department of Health, Social Care or the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) or the Forestry Commission.
Public land is not the same as public access land, publically accessible land or common land, though some public land is for public access, for example some forests are publicly owned forests, managed by the Forestry Commission, which is a non-ministerial government department and are available to the public for recreation. On the other side of the spectrum some public land is run by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and in most cases is most definately not publically accessible.
The term common land is also sometimes used to refer to land in public ownership or to which everyone has access but this is incorrect. Land must be legally registered as a common to have such status. It is a popular misconception is that any person has a right to enter common land. Although this is usually the case, it is not automatically so, though there is a public right of access to nearly all common land under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000. The laws as applied to common land are often the same as for any other piece of private land, other than for certain people who possess commoners’ rights. This is a complex and very locally-variable part of the law, and local advice should be sought about the exact status of the land and its users before using what might be common land.
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings
- Access to Neighbouring Land Act 1992.
- Brownfield land.
- Brownfield registers.
- Common area.
- Common land.
- Commons Act 2006.
- Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000.
- Green belt.
- Land law.
- Land register.
- Land value.
- Park.
- Planning condition.
- Property rights.
- Public Land Taskforce.
- Right of way.
- Right to access land.
- Ty unnos.
- Types of land.
- Village green registration.
Featured articles and news
Skills gap and investment returns on apprenticeships
ECA welcomes new reports from JTL Training and The Electrotechnical Skills Partnership.
Committee report criticises UK retrofit schemes
CIOB responds to UK’s Energy Security and Net Zero Committee report.
Design and construction industry podcasts
Professional development, practice, the pandemic, platforms and podcasts. Have we missed anything?
C20 Society; Buildings at Risk List 2025
10 more buildings published with updates on the past decade of buildings featured.
Boiler Upgrade Scheme and certifications consultation
Summary of government consultation, closing 11 June 2025.
Deputy editor of AT, Tim Fraser, discusses the newly formed society with its current chair, Chris Halligan MCIAT.
Barratt Lo-E passivhaus standard homes planned enmasse
With an initial 728 Lo-E homes across two sites and many more planned for the future.
Government urged to uphold Warm Homes commitment
ECA and industry bodies write to Government concerning its 13.2 billion Warm Homes manifesto commitment.
From project managers to rising stars, sustainability pioneers and more.
Places of Worship in Britain and Ireland, 1929-1990. Book review.
The emancipation of women in art.
Call for independent National Grenfell oversight mechanism
MHCLG share findings of Building Safety Inquiry in letter to Secretary of State and Minister for Building Safety.
The Architectural Technology Awards
AT Awards now open for this the sixth decade of CIAT.
50th Golden anniversary ECA Edmundson awards
Deadline for submissions Friday 30 May 2025.
The benefits of precast, off-site foundation systems
Top ten benefits of this notable innovation.
Encouraging individuals to take action saving water at home, work, and in their communities.
Takes a community to support mental health and wellbeing
The why of becoming a Mental Health Instructor explained.